It is a known fact that crossing the legs, particularly at the ankle, cuts off the circulation to the feet and is a major factor in causing blood clots in the feet. For this reason, there are often signs in hospitals, at least in the rooms having television sets, suggesting that the patients not cross their legs and prop them up on the foot of the hospital bed or other hard edge, but rather keep them straight lying flat on the bed.
The position in which the legs are crossed and propped on the edge of a desk or end of a bed is a very comfortable position, except for the pressure on the lower leg at the ankle and calf. It is also a position that is very easy on the heart, inasmuch as the feet are up near the head level, and the body is basically reclined.
There is a need, therefore, for some apparatus to protect the calves and the rear ankles and permit the legs to be crossed and propped on a hard surface.